The children, a girl and a boy, were found Monday in good condition about half a mile from the center at 107 Meadow Brook Heights. According to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services website, Anita Sweetser is the licensee who owns the day care.
A neighbor saw the children at her residence and called police to tell them the children had been found. Several local and state agencies responded to search for the children. They were found about an hour after Farmington police were alerted by dispatchers that the children were missing, police said.
Sweetser could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but she told WGME on Tuesday that the children were playing outside Monday and she “turned her back for a second and two of the children had disappeared.”
According to WGME, Sweetser searched her property and the woods behind her house before calling police. Six agencies responded, and the children were found about an hour later.
Sweetser told WGME, “The mother of one of the missing children told her the little girl has been running off lately,” and said that mother should have informed her of this habit.
“Had I been informed, I would have kept the child much, much closer than it was prior,” Sweetser said. Questioned by a WGME reporter on whether she shared any responsibility for the children’s disappearance, Sweetser acknowledged she did. “Of course, I mean I should have kept them really close. I should have never turned my back on them.”
According to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services website, Sweetser’s license is good from Sept. 29, 2015, to Sept. 29, 2016. She is licensed to care for up to 10 children in her home.
David Sorensen, communications director for DHHS, confirmed Wednesday that the state is investigating the incident.
Farmington police officer Darin Gilbert said Tuesday that the police report on the search for the children would go to the District Attorney’s Office for review.
According to the University of Maine at Farmington’s website, Sweetser graduated from the college in 2013 with a Master of Science degree in early childhood education.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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